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Biomedical subjects

A Geubel

Publications and source records attributed to A Geubel.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Hepatic abscess likely related to Leptotrichia buccalis in an immunocompetent patient.

We present the case of a 64-year-old previously healthy man admitted for long evoluating fever. Buccal examination showed severe parodontitis. Blood cultures were positive for Leptotrichia buccalis and computed abdominal tomography discovered a hepatic abscess. So far, only exceptional cases of systemic diseases associated with Leptotrichia buccalis infections have been described in immunocompetent patients. Thus, in cases of severe parodontitis and long evoluating fever, attention must be paid to secondary anaerobic infections even in immunocompetent subjects.

Echocardiography, Transesophageal↗

[Fulminant or sub-fulminant hepatocellular failure caused by metastatic invasiveness of the liver: an other cause of hypoxic hepatitis?].

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this retrospective study was to report a series of 9 new cases of fulminant hepatic failure due to metastatic liver disease and to identify signs to support a theory of hypoxia. METHODS: In these 9 cases and in 38 previously published cases of fulminant or subfulminant liver failure, we looked for clinical (shock, sepsis, and cutaneous signs of circulatory failure), laboratory (marked increase in serum aminotransferases levels) and histological (cell necrosis) parameters compatible with liver hypoxia. RESULTS: Cutaneous signs of circulatory failure or shock were observed in 3 of the 9 cases in this study, and were not due to cardiogenic or septic shock. A marked increase in serum aminotransferases levels, 10 times above the upper limit of normal, was observed in 8 of the 9 cases in the present study and in 23 of 37 cases of the literature. Liver cell necrosis was observed in 6 of the 7 autopsied patients in this series and in 20 of 34 cases in the literature. Generally, liver cell necrosis was more severe than tumor cell necrosis and was related to the degree of sinusoidal involvement by tumoral cells. In one case, hepatic blood flow was decreased despite a high level of cardiac blood flow suggesting impairment of circulation in the liver. CONCLUSIONS: These 9 cases and a review of the literature support the hypothesis of hypoxic liver cell necrosis leading to acute liver failure in cases of metastatic liver disease. However, liver hypoxia cannot explain all the reported cases and was never due to circulatory failure from cardiac or septic causes, but to the sinusoidal involvement by tumor cells.

Adult↗

Liver transplantation and haemophilia A.

Liver transplantation has become the standard treatment for a variety of inherited metabolic disorders. We report on two patients who underwent successful transplantation for posthepatitis viral cirrhosis, which developed following blood factor replacement for haemophilia A. The second patient was transplanted before the occurrence of major complications of either his liver or haemophilic disease. We propose early liver transplantation to achieve metabolic cure of haemophilia.

Adult↗

Endoscopic Nd:YAG treatment of superficial gastric carcinoma: experience in 18 Western inoperable patients.

Endoscopic treatment of superficial gastric cancer has been reported to be effective by many Japanese teams. In this study, the Nd:YAG laser was used to treat superficial gastric carcinoma in inoperable Caucasian patients with the aim of obtaining a complete response, i.e., disappearance of the lesion endoscopically and biopsy specimens negative for cancer. Eighteen patients unsuitable for surgery with various endoscopic patterns of superficial gastric cancer were treated with the Nd:YAG laser. The endoscopic pattern was type I in 4 patients, type II in 10 (5 type IIa, 1 type IIb, 2 type IIc, 2 mixed IIa + IIc), and type III in 4. Staging by echoendoscopy was performed in 11 patients (T1N0). Nd:YAG laser destruction of the gastric tumor was performed in all cases, with a mean of 4.4 laser sessions per patient. Tumor response was assessed by endoscopy and biopsy. Follow-up averaged 33 +/- 23 (SD) months. Five patients died of diseases unrelated to gastric cancer. An initial complete response was obtained in 16 (89%) patients after a mean of 1.7 laser sessions; histologic evidence of cancer persisted in 2 patients during the entire follow-up period. Among patients with an initial complete response, recurrence was observed in 2. One of them was successfully re-treated. At the end of the follow-up period, 14 (77.7%) of the 18 patients had a complete tumoral response; only 4 patients had histologic evidence of cancer. In 3 of these 4 patients, pretherapeutic echoendoscopic staging had not been performed. Among the 14 patients exhibiting a complete response, 3 had negative biopsy results more than 5 years after diagnosis. No complications occurred. In gastric cancer classified as T1N0 on the basis of pretherapeutic echoendoscopy, a high tumor response rate and even 5-year disease-free survival can be obtained with endoscopic Nd:YAG laser treatment. Endoscopic laser destruction thus appears to be a valuable therapeutic alternative to surgery in inoperable patients with superficial gastric cancer.

Aged↗

Outcome of HCV infection after renal transplantation.

The fate and significance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection after renal transplantation (TP) remain debated. We therefore evaluated the incidence and outcome of HCV infection in 120 kidney graft recipients both at the time of TP and 54 +/- 28 (13 to 123) months later using ELISA-II and RIBA-II immunoblot. Furthermore, the presence of anti-HCV antibodies at follow-up was correlated with HCV viremia, as detected by the nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and with chronically abnormal ALT levels. At the time of TP, 17 patients (14.2%) had anti-HCV antibodies. Compared to anti-HCV (-) patients, anti-HCV (+) patients had a longer duration of pre-TP dialysis (P < 0.001) and had received more pre-TP blood transfusions (P < 0.01). After an average follow-up of 48.5 +/- 24.7 (21 to 97) months, all these patients remained anti-HCV (+) but only 10 were still RIBA "reactive" due to the loss of reactivity against the 5-1-1, C100 and C33 (but not the C22) antigens. Five initially anti-HCV (-) patients had become (+) at follow-up. Among the 22 patients anti-HCV (+) at follow-up, 20 had HCV-RNA detectable by PCR but only 10 had elevated ALT. Ten out of 13 HBsAg (-) patients with elevated ALT were anti-HCV (+). Our study indicates that disappearance of ELISA-II anti-HCV antibodies is rare in kidney recipients and that HCV infection may also occur after TP. Anti-HCV antibodies are likely to reflect a persisting infection as suggested by the frequent detection of HCV-RNA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Alanine Transaminase↗

Anti-HCV seroconversion in multitransfused and immunocompromised patients. A long-term longitudinal study.

In a series of 6 multitransfused, immunocompromised patients, the diagnosis of posttransfusion hepatitis C was based upon the analysis of long-term follow-up serum samples. The HCV RNA was detected by a nested PCR assay using primers located in the 5' noncoding region (5'NCR), and anti-HCV antibodies were assayed with third-generation tests. The interval between the first rise in alanine aminotransferase and seroconversion varied from less than 5 months to more than 38 months. Five out of 6 patients seroconverted after 14 months or later. In most cases, the anti-NS3 and anti-NS4 antibodies appeared first. In such patients, the etiology of chronic liver disease may thus be overlooked for 1 or more years, a definitive diagnosis requiring the detection of HCV RNA.

Adult↗

Acute cholestatic hepatitis with rash and hypereosinophilia associated with ranitidine treatment.

We report a case of acute cholestatic hepatitis associated with rash and hypereosinophilia, in which the absence of transfusion, intercurrent viral infection, alcohol consumption or other hepatotoxic drugs are suggestive of ranitidine-induced hepatotoxicity. The pathogenesis of the disorder is unknown, but the lack of a dose-effect relationship, the rarity and unpredictability of the reaction, as well as the clinical signs suggest that hypersensitivity is involved. Physicians should be aware of this rare and idiosyncratic side-effect of ranitidine.

Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury↗

Immunoquantification of cytochrome P-450 3A on rat paraffin-embedded liver tissue.

The cytochrome P-450 3A family is involved in the metabolism of several drugs, including nifedipine, cyclosporine, quinidine and erythromycin. The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable method to obtain a relative quantification of cytochrome P-450 3A apoproteins in rat liver specimens by immunocytochemistry and to correlate such quantification to erythromycin N-demethylase activity, a biochemical pathway sustained by that enzymatic system. Thirty-six male Wistar rats were treated with an injection of either saline or dexamethasone phosphate (10, 30 or 50 mg/kg), a potent inducer of cytochrome P-450 3A. Specimens taken from the same lobe were processed for immunocytochemistry and determination of erythromycin N-demethylase activity. Paraffin sections were treated with a polyclonal antiserum directed against cytochrome P-450 3A. The density of cytochrome P-450 3A immunostaining measured by an automatic image analyzer increased with the dose of dexamethasone pretreatment, and with the erythromycin N-demethylase activity, both parameters being closely correlated. Our data indicate that in rats, when cytochrome P-450 3A is concerned, there is a close correlation between the results of immunoquantitation and biochemical activity. This suggests that such a method of investigation might be used on small paraffin-embedded liver specimens obtained by needle biopsy.

Animals↗

Regenerative nodules in hepatic cirrhosis. Value of gradient-echo MR imaging with a surface coil.

To evaluate the accuracy of surface coil gradient-echo (GRE) imaging in the detection of regenerative nodules of hepatic cirrhosis, 53 patients with diffuse liver disease, among whom 31 had cirrhosis, were prospectively investigated. Three GRE sequences acquired with a surface coil were used in the study: a T2*-weighted, a T1-weighted, and a gadopentetate-enhanced sequence. ROC analysis showed that two surface coil GRE sequences were superior to conventional T2-weighted spin-echo imaging acquired with a body coil for the detection of regenerative nodules. The detection of regenerative nodules was also more accurate for the diagnosis of cirrhosis than the measurement of the caudate-to-right lobe ratio. These results suggest that there could be a potential for surface coil GRE imaging in the assessment of the characteristic macroscopic alterations of cirrhosis.

Adult↗

Fever, hepatitis and acute interstitial nephritis in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis. Concurrent manifestations of azathioprine hypersensitivity.

We describe a patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who developed hypersensitivity after 3 weeks of therapy with azathioprine with fever, jaundice and renal insufficiency. A percutaneous liver biopsy was compatible with hypersensitivity hepatitis. During azathioprine rechallenge, the symptoms recurred within a few days, consistent with the diagnosis of an acute hypersensitivity reaction. This report is the first to describe the association of an azathioprine induced hypersensitivity simultaneously involving the liver and the kidneys, in the same patient with RA, with resurgence after rechallenge.

Acute Disease↗

Patterns of hepatitis delta virus reinfection and disease in liver transplantation.

Twenty-seven carriers of the hepatitis B surface antigen who underwent liver transplantation in Italy and Belgium for terminal Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) cirrhosis were investigated. In 22 of the patients, HDV infection recurred. Two patients died of coexisting HDV and hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation. Four patients who died of unrelated causes were found to have HDV without signs of HBV reactivation. Five patients (18%) cleared both HBV and HDV after transplantation with no evidence of hepatitis (mean follow-up, 29 months). In many surviving patients. HDV infection recurred early without signs of HBV reactivation. Disease returned in the 11 HDV-infected patients in whom HBV also recurred. Histological hepatitis did not recur during an interim of 12-33 months in the 5 HDV-infected patients in whom HBV did not return. The overall medium-term survival in patients with HDV who underwent transplantation was 77.7%. Liver transplantation offers patients with HDV a hope of cure from disease despite a high risk of reinfection. In the transplantation setting. HDV can cause subclinical infections without any apparent assistance from HBV; these infections become symptomatic only if and when HBV reactivates. Thus, HDV may not be in itself pathogenic but requires cooperation from HBV to cause the appearance of the disease.

Adolescent↗